For more than 25 years, Hiredepot has been servicing customers in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. In 2024, they were recognised as the hire company of the year (under $10 million).
It may sound boring but Dan Rowland, Director of HIREDEPOT, thinks that what may have got them over the line with the HRIA’s Hire Company of the Year judges, was their focus on process.
“I think they were impressed to see how many processes we’ve got — and the fact that they’re all written out and the team are drilled on them,” says Dan.
“I took it for granted that everyone else would be doing the same, but I guess for a lot of smaller businesses, it’s more ad hoc.”
Process is something that Dan’s dad, Ken, who bought the business in 1999, was big on.
“His theory was that if someone asked a question about how to do something, it should be in an Operations Manual that sets out how everything is meant to be run,” he says. “He believed it’s so important for consistency and safety.”
It’s that focus on consistency and safety that’s seen the business thrive over two decades.
HIREDEPOT started out as Glen Iris Handy Hire. Shortly before it was acquired by Ken (and a business partner who sold out shortly thereafter), the business was moved to a larger premises and given a new name, Glen Iris Hire. In 2010, they opened a new site in Fairfield, to better service Melbourne’s inner and northern suburbs, prompting another name change to HIREDEPOT. Today, they’re a genuine trade hire business who believe their customers come first, their prices will be competitive, and they’ll always go above and beyond to get the job done.
HIREDEPOT ready to deliver a Kanga to site
The business has always been a family affair since Ken took over, with Dan and his three brothers working casually in the business while at school. However, with Ken looking to retire, Dan’s brother Scott took over in 2018. By 2019, Dan had swapped his job in insurance to come back to HIREDEPOT on a permanent basis and in 2021, was running the business. Ken eventually retired in 2022 however after running the business for 22 years, remains involved.
The business now employs a team of 20, with one about to notch up 25 years of service. Yet it’s still a relatively young team, reflecting their move towards digital apps and technology. He says while it’s been a radical change for some of his older team members, they’ve been involved throughout the process rather than just ‘dumping it in their laps at the last minute’.
“I’ve seen the blowback you can get when change is poorly implemented,” says Dan. “So, we had a lot of dialogue with our team and took the training slowly because we had to get it right.”
Their nomination for the 2024 Hire Company of the Year came about at the request of one of their branch managers while their submission was driven by Marketing Manager Tess Gillespie who could see the value of preparing the submission and going through the judging and award process.
When they were announced as finalists, Dan invited his two branch managers and Tess to the Gala Dinner in Brisbane last June for the big announcement.
While Dan felt they were in with a chance to win, they’d done their research and knew they were up against stiff competition but when the announcement was made that they’d won, it came as a shock.
“I certainly hadn’t rehearsed a speech,” he says. “As a bit of an introvert, it was intimidating to stand in front of 1,000 people and accept the award.”
Returning to Melbourne with the award was a proud moment for the entire team. “That was probably the biggest thing for me,” he says. “They were as happy and proud as I was because we’d come together as a team to make it happen. The cohesion and team pride that emerged from that was invaluable.”
The award also gave team members further insights into the business, providing another point of pride in their workplace.
“Some of the team who hadn’t been with us long didn’t know about the community sponsorships we’re involved in,” he says. “It’s important that we’re involved and connected with our community as much as possible and nice to be able to give back and share it around.”
Maintaining connections are important for Dan and the business.
“When people come on board, I tell them it’s a very competitive industry but it’s also very collegiate,” says Dan. “A lot of the time, your competitors are your suppliers, so you need to maintain good relationships in some way, shape or form. It’s friendly competition which I think is pretty unique.”
It’s also a key reason why HIREDEPOT have been members of the HRIA for many years…and it’s something they value enormously.
“Hire can be an invisible industry in a lot of respects,” says Dan. “There’s no box to tick on a form to say you work in hire so if it wasn’t for the industry coming together in the association to do things—such as combat dodgy customers or lobby government for our interests—we wouldn’t get anywhere.”
He also recognises how the HRIA can help small business owners run their businesses.
“They can help if you’re trying to understand what procedures you need to be compliant, how to improve your safety and risk management or looking for general business support, which for a small business, can be a minefield.”
“So regardless of whether you’re an event, construction, or general hire business, for me, it’s a no-brainer.”
With a new year just begun, Dan says there’s no other industry he’d rather be in.
“You can have a laugh with your competitors and suppliers because it’s such a friendly industry,” he says. “We’re also lucky to have great customers.”
“There’s so much variety and every day is different, and while you may be pulling your hair out sometimes, when you’re not, you’re having a good time.”